Alabama

St. Elmo Airport supporters hope Airbus brings opportunities

An aerial view of the the St. Elmo Airport. (Ryan Tahbo/Press-Register)

ST. ELMO, Alabama -- With the recent Airbus announcement, supporters of St. Elmo Airport are making a push to market the little-known facility as a potential job creator for the small, south-Mobile County community.

A general aviation airport located about 18 miles from Brookley Aeroplex, St. Elmo Airport has been state-owned since 1947 and was used for training pilots during the Vietnam War. The 738-acre expanse -- with 20 hangers and a 4,000-foot landing strip -- is now used mostly for corporate and private jets.

"I think there's all kinds of opportunities available," St. Elmo Airport Manager Kip Turner said. "It's in a well-located position for general aviation given the adjacent land. It could be an opportunity for anything from commercial development to training to whatever the case may be."

Retired Federal Aviation Administration supervisor Bill Meredith, an adamant supporter of the airport, describes it as an "underdeveloped jewel."

Meredith, who lives in nearby Irvington, predicted that the airport could draw jobs to the south part of the county, including those with companies relocating from Brookley.

"If you're not a big player at Brookley, they'll probably be moving off," he said. "This is going to be a perfect fit for them. We just need to let them know this is here."

Bill Sisson, executive director of the Mobile Airport Authority, said he thinks there is a lot of room to grow at Brookley and the aeroplex doesn't want to displace any of its tenants.

"Obviously our energy will be focused on properties at Brookley" and at Mobile Regional Airport, Sisson said. "There's a lot of opportunities for available properties throughout the region and the closer they are to the Brookley Aeroplex, obviously the better the opportunity.

"I'm sure that our local economic development partners will have opportunities associated with Airbus outside of the Brookley Aeroplex."

St. Elmo Airport has seen improvement in recent years including a new self-service fuel system, a well pump installation and a $600,000, 10-hanger construction project finished last month.

John Eagerton, bureau chief for the Alabama Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Bureau, said the state has seen the economic development potential in the airport and has been positioning it to better take advantage of opportunities such as Airbus' decision to locate its first U.S. final assembly plant at Brookley.

The state has invested between $6 million and $8 million in capital improvements at the airport in the last 15 years and has laid out a plan for development in the event that an aerospace supplier or a training school would locate there.

"We've been working quietly in the background, getting things together," Eagerton said. "We've already done industrial site planning and we would need to work with the individual company to identify what their needs are. What we've tried to do is anticipate those different kinds of activities so we can try to fit them somewhere in the plan."

St. Elmo Airport also has backing from state Rep. David Session, R-Grand Bay, who said smaller vendors would find better rental rates at St. Elmo than at Brookley.

"We're having a huge push at the state level to create jobs," said Sessions. "What better place to tag along with Airbus than right here? We're looking at subcontractors that can bring jobs, not just store airplanes."

Sessions said the airport's benefits may seem obvious, but it has been difficult to get the land any notice.

"It's really hard to have someone get on your side and help push," Sessions said, noting that there's been little attempt to advertise St. Elmo's facilities.

Eagerton said the airport could serve as an industrial or business park but also is suited for pilots and aircraft mechanic instruction.

He said that he'd welcome the opportunity to work in tandem with Mobile officials.

When the excitement of the announcement wears off, he said, "I think you need to sit down and have some strategy meetings to see how we go forward; recruit the kinds of business that support the Airbus operations and the community."